Cruise lines stop Faroe visits over whale hunt

German cruise lines looking to visit alternative destinations
Two German cruise lines have stopped visiting the Faroe Islands in protest over an annual pilot whale hunt. Hapag-Lloyd and AIDA are now looking to visit alternative destinations, while urging the islanders to halt the practice.
The pilot whales are rounded up at sea and driven to the shore where they are killed by the islands’ inhabitants. But it is not just whales that end up being killed in the hunt for their meat, but also various dolphin species according to the charity Whale and Dolphin Conservation.
“In the interest of our crew and our guests as well as for reasons for species protection, AIDA Cruises has decided to stop making port calls to the Faroe Islands until further notice,” Dr Monika Griefahn, director for environment and community and chief sustainability officer at AIDA, told the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
Karl Pojer, Hapag-Lloyd chief executive, added: “Hapag-Lloyd Cruises is committed to treating flora, fauna and the marine ecosystem as well as all its creatures with respect. We protect what fascinates us – it is therefore high in the interests of the company that whaling on the Faroe Islands is stopped.”
His head of corporate communications Negar Etminan added: “We have already reduced the amount of port calls to the Faroe Islands. There is only one port of call scheduled for the Faroe Islands next year. We will refrain from further port of calls to the Faroe Islands for now and are currently checking possible alternatives for the scheduled itinerary next year.”TTG Digital